Lyell, Mary Elizabeth Horner, 1808-1873

British geologist Mary Horner, oldest child of London geologist Leonard and Ann Horner, was one of six girls in the scientific family. In 1832 she met and married the famous geologist Charles Lyell in Bonn, and the couple had a geological honeymoon in Switzerland and Italy; on their return, they settled in Bloomsbury where Charles worked to finish the third volume of his monumental “Principles of Geology.” She helped her husband with his research in many ways: her reading knowledge of French and German meant that she could translate pertinent scholarly articles for him; because of Charles’ poor eyesight, she often read aloud to him and also managed his correspondence. In addition to her research in geology, she also became interested in Conchology (study of shells). Charles was president of the Geological Society from 1835 to 1837; Mary’s father served in that same post from1845 to 1846 and from 1860 to 1861. Charles and Mary traveled together to the United States when Charles was invited to give the Lowell lectures in Boston in 1841-1842 and again in 1845-1846. The fruits of these visits were several volumes, published in 1845 and 1849, about their travels and their opinions on American social and political problems.